i'm new here so forgive me for my dumb questions please! my dad got a what i belive is a 27 roadster body about 40 yrs ago and its always been his dream to cruise that car, well the car never got built and time has taken effect on dad and the old mind is just giving up so he cant remember much of anything let alone stuff about this car and i cant let him go without never getting to ride in the car. i dont have much to money for this project so it must be super low budget. i can steal the engine and trans from my race car so i have that handeled. parts i have 27 t body, doors, trunk, bare frame and thats about all i dont know if this would be terribly wrong to do but i have a ranger truck frame and i thought about widing the body to mount on the frame, would it be the worst thing in the world to cut that body in half? please any suggestions would be great
Don't even talk smack about widening a body for a ranger frame here!! you'll get ripped up one side and down the other... read the hamb moto... The Jalopy Journal was formed just a few years later to spread the gospel of traditional Hot Rods and Kustoms to hoodlums worldwide... We wanted to be the voice of the working man, a tool in the toolbox of the guy that does it himself, and a place where citizen journalists could show the "big-time" media a thing or two. We haven't done it all yet, but we aim to in time... doesn't have anything to do with ranger frames... if you look around for a little while at swap meets and here on the for sale threads, you'd probably find everything you need to get it going. Build you're own frame. Heck look through the Tech archives... you'll find everythign you need!!
If you need a frame for a T, buy a kit frame like they sell at Speedway Motors. They're made to mount a T body properly and aren't that expensive. To cut a T body and widen it to fit over a Ranger ch***is would truely be an abortion. Not just the goofy proportions you'll end up with, but the front suspension would be pretty gruesome too. There have been many attempts to mount a Model T or A onto an S-10 or Ranger ch***is, I have never seen one that didn't look like ****, mostly due to the fact that the radiator is a foot or more forward of the front axle centerline.
Definately toss the Ranger frame and body widening idea. Start by looking through the threads on this messege board and through the technical threads for ideas. As mentioned a frame from speedway or total performance can be bought cheap. Hell, you can even buy a weld it yourself frame kit for about $225 I believe. Also Egay always has frames for sale. And you never know what you might find at your local trade schools. Many welding cl***es know how to build these simple frames and can fix you up for cheap usually. Main thing is to read and study any info and pics you can find. You'll learn more from reading the thousands of posts here then you will ever learn asking how to do it. Good luck!
thanks for all the info. i would rather build it right. i do have a frame but no suspension any ideas were to get that stuff cheap and what do i even need. i will continue searching this site for info but anyone with something to add would be great.
Keep an eye on the For Sale section here. I managed, by diligence on the HAMB, to get a powdercoated TCI Model A ch***is for my '27 Tudor Sedan, complete with master cylinder and hard lines, even braided stainless lines for the front, for $300.00. The rest of the stuff can be gotten here, like the axke, brakes, springs, etc... if you are going to do it, do it right. You think your dad wanted to stick that body on a Ranger or S-10 ch***is when he bought it? If you want to help him live his dream, then build the car as close to what he wanted, as your time, budget, and talent allow. JMO, your mileage may vary.
MAS is decent enough T parts, the advertise in most mags. A tube front axle with the spring and wishbones is like $350ish. They have a frame too. Just don't order a catalog, it's the same one from 1981 and the prices and stuff are way off.
I thought about using this guy as well...check out this link on ebay. I see him on there all the time with his frames. Might save some time and ***le with the options. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-...tegoryZ10076QQihZ012QQitemZ220079847324QQrdZ1
Take some pics and show the frame, body, and collection of parts you have now. Then people can give even better advice.
Sounds like time might be an issue, not to mention experience with these cars. If you don't have a real specific look or style in mind but you just want to build it quick and right my opinion would be to buy a frame from someone like Speedway as complete as you can afford. It will probably cost you less in the end and will save you hundreds of hours of searching, adapting and fabricating. Many on here will want to linch me for suggesting it and it's not my style but "horses for courses". Your goal is different to mine. Good luck with it and your dad. Pete
Someone on here has a tagline that says "I can paint your car fast, cheap and well... pick any two." I'd say that can be applied to building a car too. If you throw a bunch of money at it, you can build it fast and well. If you are patient and take your time, you'll have a well-built car on the cheap. If you insist on sticking to your budget and your timeline then you'll end up with something that everyone (including your Dad) regrets your having built. Myself, I'm taking the slow and inexpensive route. If I had more money, I'd be done sooner. Everything's a tradeoff. Since your Dad is old, I'd recommend you open up your budget and buy one of the Speedway complete '27 ch***is and put your racecar engine in it. You can always make more money, but once your Dad is gone, he's gone forever. -Dave
The Jalopy Journal
